Tour de France Tour de France 2021, Stage 7: Vierzon – Le Creusot, 249.1 km

[Rollthedice]

Stuyven might have this.

 

[DoYouEvenRideBruh]

Nibali was right about the Belgians going crazy today. Let's hope they expend all their collective national energy before tonight with this attempt.

 

[Netserk]

Surprised that 2 good roleurs had a gap closed on them relatively easily in favorable terrain. Maybe the group behind still has a chance if van der Poel goes rar somehwere around Autun

Maybe they took a breather before the hill and wanted the company?

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Are you against teams riding ?
Would you prefer wildcards just sit in the bunch ?

The point of wildcards is not to increase the number of teams who kill interesting race situations so their climber can finish 12th on GC.

 

[Eclipse]

Surprised the break have let the attackers get this much leeway, especially given there are teams with 2 riders still in there.

 

[titan31]

Teunnissen finally riding

 

[triley36]

Kind of thinking that Pogacar’s biggest vulnerability may have come from the ill fortunes of roglic and Ineos. Irony there. No way this race situation comes about if TJV and/or Ineos have desire to control. They would have towed Pogacar all over France only for him to beat them in the TT and on the mountain tops.

 

[Breezy1985]

The point of wildcards is not to increase the number of teams who kill interesting race situations so their climber can finish 12th on GC.

Killing it is a massive exaggeration the break still has 8 minutes

 

[roundabout]

Maybe they took a breather before the hill and wanted the company?

I think having Stuyven across is an extra risk. But maybe you are right.

I was thinking that the front 2 would go fast before the last set of hills to get the gap to 2 minutes and break the morale behind. But guess not.

 

[perico]

I hated USPS, but they were tactically smart. They didn’t care if they gave O’Grady and Francois Simon had a 30 minute gap in 2001 because those guys we’re grupetto fodder.

In 2005, they were sure as Hell chasing down Julich in a break at 3 minutes. Nobody thought Bobby Julich was a serious threat to win the Tour anymore, but USPS sure as hell weren’t going to give a rider that good a large advantage because it would take a lot of work to get rid of him if he had a 3 minute advantage over Armstrong. You minimize the risk. Those were Bruyneel’s words at the time.

And while Julich might have been dangerous he was not even in the same universe of a dangerous rider as Nibali is.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Killing it is a massive exaggeration the break still has 8 minutes

They tried their damnedest to kill it earlier in the stage...

 

[Red Rick]

They all fear Nibalis spritn after 250km.

 

[luckyboy]

Are the Vans going to do anything here or what

 

[roundabout]

I hated USPS, but they were tactically smart. They didn’t care if they gave O’Grady and Francois Simon had a 30 minute gap in 2001 because those guys we’re grupetto fodder.

In 2005, they were sure as Hell chasing down Julich in a break at 3 minutes. Nobody thought Bobby Julich was a serious threat to win the Tour anymore, but USPS sure as hell weren’t going to give a rider that good a large advantage because it would take a lot of work to get rid of him if he had a 3 minute advantage over Armstrong. You minimize the risk. Those were Bruyneel’s words at the time.

And while Julich might have been dangerous he was not even in the same universe of a dangerous rider as Nibali is.

They did give Kivilev 13 minutes in 2001.

And what stage was that in 2005? I honestly don't remember.

 

[bob.a.feet]

I hated USPS, but they were tactically smart. They didn’t care if they gave O’Grady and Francois Simon had a 30 minute gap in 2001 because those guys we’re grupetto fodder.

In 2005, they were sure as Hell chasing down Julich in a break at 3 minutes. Nobody thought Bobby Julich was a serious threat to win the Tour anymore, but USPS sure as hell weren’t going to give a rider that good a large advantage because it would take a lot of work to get rid of him if he had a 3 minute advantage over Armstrong. You minimize the risk. Those were Bruyneel’s words at the time.

And while Julich might have been dangerous he was not even in the same universe of a dangerous rider as Nibali is.

Tactics aside, USPS were far superior to this UAE team. It's not like they're not trying to chase.

 

[Netserk]

I think having Stuyven across is an extra risk. But maybe you are right.

I was thinking that the front 2 would go fast before the last set of hills to get the gap to 2 minutes and break the morale behind. But guess not.

It's also possible that the two of them couldn't agree to commit 100 % before the hill, Van Moer maybe a little afraid of Mohoric and also with options behind him.

 

[JosefK]

This stage started with a bang. I hope it doesn't end with a whimper.

 

[Eclipse]

Perhaps seeing the effect of the pace on the break I guess.

Lots of bodies doing very little.

 

[roundabout]

Dumbass Skys

But of course it's always the organization fault when crashes happen even when the altitude seems to try to get position for a corner at 40+km to go on a transition stage

 

[Devil's Elbow]

New tactics alert!

 

[Red Rick]

Ineos never fails to be a detriment to the racing

 

[MartinGT]

Ineos riding, will Smith slag these off?

 

[titan31]

The main break lads here are going nowhere. Dropping back a lot at this stage and now others riding

 

[JosefK]

Ineos domming for Pogi now.

 

[Netserk]

Seems Campenaerts went deep to close the gap. Lucky Stuyven.

BTW they rode this climb in the opposite direction in 2007 when Pozzato won.